Change of Plans
by kyil
Summary: Life doesn't always go as planed. This is all too familiar for these two shinobis who are complete opposites. Shikatema
1. Awaiting An Arrival

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

**A/N: Okay so this fic is in the Naruto universe, but the timeline is somewhat AU. I just couldn't really figure out how to fit it into the original storyline, so I opt not to. In this fic, Tsunade is still the Hokage and Shikamaru had made Jounin.**

Shikamaru gave a tired yawn as he slowly strolled down the bustling streets of Konoha toward the Hokage's building. Thinking how no one should wake up so early in the morning, he wondered what the Hokage needed to tell him. Last night a messenger had arrived at the Nara household to inform him that the Hokage would need to speak with him the next morning.

'_Obviously it's not too important since she didn't need to see me right away, so why couldn't this wait until noon or something,'_ he gave a sigh as he knew that wouldn't have let him sleep in anyway since his mother doesn't like him sleeping in late unless he had been on a long mission.

Inwardly he hoped that this would not turn out to be a long assignment that would keep him busy. Usually he wouldn't be too bothered by long missions, as troublesome as they were, but there was a reason for his current increase of annoyance at the idea of a long mission and it had to do with the fact that a certain Suna ambassador was scheduled to arrive tomorrow.

Without knowing it, Shikamaru's usual bored expression slowly transformed as his mouth twisted up into a grin at the thought of Temari's arrival the next day. Since the first time he had been her escort when she arrived as a Suna ambassador, his position never changed. Somehow, he had become Temari's permanent escort each time she traveled to Konoha.

Sure it had been extremely troublesome at first having a bossy woman ordering him around, but over the years they had become very close friends through the time they had spent together preparing for upcoming Chunin Exams. Even when they weren't working or he wasn't acting as her escort, they still seek out the other's company quite often and overtime, he had come to enjoy her company. It's not like they no longer argue since that seems to be the foundation of their friendship, but Shikamaru no longer found their usual arguments as annoying as he once had. One might even say he found their arguments intriguing since Temari always had some sort of witty comeback. It was always baffling to him how he would welcome such a troublesome woman's company. Even more so when he found himself missing her bossy and witty attitude every now and then during the times she was back in Suna.

He gave a sigh and scratched the back of his head with a tried look as he mumbled, "Troublesome."

He had just recently figured out the reason behind his desire for her company. Somewhere along the way he had fallen for that troublesome woman. He wouldn't exactly call it love, but he will admit, to himself anyway, that he really liked Temari. It took an idiot hitting on Temari in front of him to awaken him to this feeling he had been trying to deny.

It had happened during Temari's last visit to Konoha. That night his mother had made him invite Temari to the Nara household for dinner as his mother had become quite fond of her after he had introduced her one day when his mother had bumped into them when she had been out shopping. It scares him how the two had the same bossy and demanding attitude.

After the meal when Temari had said she should be heading back, his mother had "asked" him to walk Temari back to her inn. Having known it would be pointless to argue, he had agreed. That had earned an amused look from Temari as she commented on how if only he would be that obedient all the time and stop complaining about how troublesome when they were preparing for the Chunin Exams together. He had only grunted in response as they began walking toward the inn where she always stayed during her time in Konoha.

They had almost reached their destination when some idiot drunk walked up to them completely ignoring him and began hitting on Temari. She had stared at the man icily and told him in a low threatening voice to leave her alone. Now anyone who had half a brain would know not to mess with this low tempered Suna princess, but that guy was obviously drunk out of his mind. When Temari walked pass him, the stupid moron actually grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards him. Having been caught off guard for a moment, she had stumbled backward, but her surprised expression quickly turned into an outraged one. However, before she could beat the drunken idiot into a bloody plump, Shikamaru had already pulled the man's hand off of Temari's and placed himself between the drunkard and the Suna princess. Before she could yell at him for interfering, he had punched the drunkard sending the man falling back onto the ground. As the man was about to get up, he found a kunai was placed very close to his neck.

"Never make the mistake of grabbing her again or there will be very severe consequences," Shikamaru had said with his usual bored expression, but his tone had been extremely cold and serious.

Somehow, seeing this man grabbed at Temari had awoken an immense feeling of rage and hatred toward the drunkard. Too scared to make a sound, the man had nodded his understanding and scrambled off as soon as Shikamaru had removed the kunai from under his chin.

As he got up and looked at Temari, he had seen a surprised look etched on her face, but it had quickly disappeared when she had saw him staring at her. The rest of the way had been walked in silence. Once they had arrived, he had watched her walk toward the inn only to stop at the entrance. He had heard her sigh before turning around to face him with a half embarrassed, half annoyed expression on her face.

"I could have taken care of myself," she had said in an annoyed tone, "but..."

There had been a moment of silence as he waited for her to finish what she wanted to say.

"...Thank you," she whispered only loud enough for him to hear and gave him an almost embarrassed yet happy smile before quickly walking into the inn not giving him a chance to reply.

He had never seen her smile that way before. It had always been arrogant smirks or even the occasional sincere smile, but never the way she had just smiled. This smile of hers made him felt like his insides were doing a flip-flop and he had felt a blush creep up to his face. He had stood there dumbstruck for a few moments before he finally remembered he had to head home.

Needless to say, he had spent that entire night trying to figure out what had caused his usual calm demeanor to vanish at the sight of that man grabbing Temari as well as what caused him to feel the way he did when she had tanked him with that smile. It had taken him awhile, but after a feeling of emptiness filled him when he had seen Temari off the next day, he could no longer deny he had developed feelings for the Suna princess.

Letting out another sigh, Shikamaru slowly came out of his thoughts as he realized he had absent-mindly arrived at the door to the Hokage's office. After knocking on the door, he heard Tsunade's voice on the other side telling him to enter.

"What do you need to see me for," he asked after greeting both Tsunade and Shizune.

"Yes well I needed to inform you some changes regarding the Suna ambassador's arrival tomorrow," Tusnade said looking from a scroll she was reading.

A frown appeared on his face as he sensed he won't like what the changes will be, "am I no longer an escort or is another person acting as Suna's ambassador this time?"

"Actually Suna's ambassador, Temari, will not be arriving tomorrow," Tsunade replied and took a sip of her tea, "Her arrival has been postponed until further notice, so you will not need to greet her tomorrow at the Konoha gates like usual."

Shikamaru could feel his heart drop at hearing that Temari will not be in Konoha by tomorrow. He had been really looking forward to seeing her again especially now that he acknowledged his growing feelings for her.

Seeing Shikamaru's frown deepened, Tsunade raised an eyebrow saying, "I would have thought you'd be overjoyed to know you won't have to get up extremely early tomorrow morning."

"I am," he said in what he hoped to be a convincing tone.

Seeing both Tsunade and Shizune's skeptical faces, he quickly added, "It's just now I'll have twice the work in preparing for the upcoming Chunin Exam."

"Well then you better get started," Tsunade said with a wave of her hand to signal his dismissal.

When she saw his hesitation, "Is there something you need?"

"Umm, I was just wondering why Temari's arrival has been postponed," he asked sheepishly as he kept his gaze anywhere but toward Tsunade or Shizune's.

"I suppose there's no harm in telling you. It seems Temari ran into some unexpected trouble during a mission with her genin team. The injuries she sustained prevented her from traveling here," seeing the worry in his eyes, Tsunade added, "With a few days of rest, Temari would be well enough to travel again, so until then you'll have to begin the preparations for the Chunin Exam on your own."

Shikamaru nodded in understanding and turned to leave when Tsunade spoke up again.

"Oh and Shikamaru, don't worry. We'll inform you the day before her arrival so you can meet her at he gates the next morning," she said in an amused tone purposely not mentioning him as Temari's escort.

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"I'm home," Shikamaru informed his mother as he passed the kitchen on his way to his room.

"Come back down for dinner after you've changed," Yoshino yelled back to her son.

After grunting in response, he made his way up and opened the door to his room. He placed the unfinished documents regarding the plans of the Chunin Exam onto his desk before tossing his Jounin vest onto his bed. Quickly changing, he then headed back down for dinner.

"So are you back to escorting that nice Suna girl tomorrow Shikamaru," Yoshino asked casually as the family began eating.

"Why do you need to know," he replied in a bored tone.

"Just answer your mother's question," Yoshino said sternly.

"No mom, Temari was held back in Suna and won't be arriving for a few days."

"That's too bad. I would have been nice to invite her to have dinner with us again. She was very respectful and could get you to actually work on documents while she was here," Yoshino said with a smile.

When she saw Shikamaru's lack of replies, Yoshino smiled at her son and said, "Don't you think Temari would make a nice girlfriend for you?"

Shikamaru almost choked on his rice at his mother's question. In the corner of his eye, he could see that his father had a grin on his face, obviously finding his discomfort amusing.

"Mom!"

"Oh come now, you do like her don't you," Yoshino said unfazed.

"She's a good friend," Shikamaru stated trying to avoid answering his mother's questions as a light blush rose to his face.

"Honestly Shikamaru, you can't lie to your mother. Besides even if she's your friend now doesn't mean she can't be your girlfriend in the future especially when you like the girl," Yoshino said with a frown.

"Troublesome women," Shikamaru muttered.

"What was that," Yoshino asked in a threatening tone.

"Nothing mom."

- - -

After a long dinner with his mother's constant encouragement for him to ask "the nice Suna girl" out, Shikamaru now sat on the porch playing shoji with his father.

Noticing his son's unusual lack of attention on their game, Shikaku sighed.

"Why so distracted son? It's not the first time your mother nagged you to get a girlfriend," seeing Shikamaru wasn't about to answer, he continued, "Does it have anything to do with why the Suna ambassador will be arriving later than usual?"

"She was injured during a recent mission," Shikamaru replied after a moment.

"Well if her arrival has only been delayed a few days, then it means her injuries are nothing to worry about," Shikaku said matter-of-factly feeling amused at his son's concern for this Suna girl that he had always called troublesome.

Shikamaru gave a shrug as he continued to stare at the shoji pieces, but it was obvious to Shikaku that his son was not concentrating on their game at all.

"Son," Shikaku said with a shake of his head, "I don't want to sound like your mother, but it is obvious this Temari means a lot to you if you're this worried over this kind of news. As a shinobi yourself, you should already know that our lives are always in danger. She probably get minor injuries every so often. It just so happened that this time it interfered with her arrival here as the Suna ambassador."

"I know dad," Shikamaru said with a sigh before getting to his feet, "Since I can't concentrate, lets end our game for tonight. I'm gonna go to bed."

As Shikamaru headed towards his room, he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Let me tell you Shikamaru," Shikaku said to his son with a smile, "Women are troublesome creatures and the woman you fall for will be the most troublesome of all, but if she returns your affection, you'll never want to let go of that troublesome woman ever again."

- - -

Shikamaru laid in bed staring at the ceiling with both his hands behind his head. He just couldn't sleep. The knowledge that Temari was injured enough to postpone her trip to Konoha worries him greatly. He knew that someone as stubborn as Temari would still follow through with her plans even if she was injured.

'_This means either her injuries are very severe or her brothers have demanded she postpone her trip,'_ Shikamaru thought before his mouth twitched up into a small smile, _'Knowing her it's probably her brothers that forbad her from traveling as scheduled.'_

Then remembering his father's earlier words, he brought a hand to massage his forehead.

'_I'm turning into my old man,'_ he thought half-grudgingly before furrowing his brows as he wondered if he will be able to plunk up to courage to confess his feeling to Temari and ask her out when she arrives and even if he does, will she actually go out with a "crybaby" like him.

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A week has passed since Shikamaru has first learned of Temari's postponed arrival. Over that week he had been busy with all the document work regarding the Chunin Exam and anytime he wasn't working, he spent wondering how he would ask Temari out. Needless to say it had been a horribly troublesome week.

Now he stood waiting at he gates of Konoha for Temari's arrival. He had even arrived earlier than he usually would as he had been restless the whole night.

'_What's the point of having an IQ over 200 if I can't even figure out how to ask out a girl I like,'_ he thought bitterly.

He was so focused on his thoughts that he failed to notice the figure rapidly approaching Konoha's gates.

"Oi you lazybum have you fallen asleep waiting," he suddenly heard an all too familiar voice yelled out.

Opening his eyes, he saw Temari walking up to him with her trademark smirk as well as amusement in her eyes. He could have even sworn he saw a flint of happiness in her eyes as she approached him.

'_Well there's hope yet,'_ he thought with a smile as he directed a lazy wave in her direction, '_I guess I don't have to always plan things out since this troublesome woman will probably ruin it one way or another.'_

**A/N: Well I'm guessing this fic will be no longer than 4 chapters, but we'll see. The next chapter will be in the same time frame as this chapter only it will be about what Temari had experienced during this time. Can't say if it will be as long as this but I'll try. I would appreciate any helpful feedback or ideas.**


	2. Unwanted Set Back

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

Temari gave a small groan as she slowly became conscious. She was aware of a soft warm fabric draped over her as well as the aching feeling in her chest when she moved slightly. The room she was in was filled with the smell of medicine and herbs. Everything seemed calm and quiet until she heard soft clacking sounds echo throughout the room.

Immediately understanding where she was and what was making the annoying sound, Temari gave out a grunt as she raised her arm to hold her forehead, "Darn it Kankuro can't you be quiet and stop messing with those damn puppets of yours! This is a hospital after all!"

"Figures you'd insult me the moment you woke sis," she heard Kankuro reply and could almost see the scowl that must be on his face, "And after I had help rush you here too."

Ignoring Kankuro, Temari slowly allowed her eyes to adjust to the sudden rush of light. Taking in her surroundings, after having pushed herself up into a sitting position, she saw that she was indeed in the Suna hospital. The room was pretty much empty except for the bed, a small table at the bedside and two chairs next to the window where the sun was currently shining through.

"I'm gonna get a medic. They said to call them once you woke up, so they can see how you are," Kankuro said to catch her attention.

Once he saw her nod in response, he resealed the puppet he had been working on and placed the scroll onto his back before exiting the room. As soon as her brother had left, she tried to assess how bad her injuries were. She noticed there were minor cuts and scratches on her arms and legs, but nothing that won't heal overtime. It seemed her greatest injury was the pain in her chest, probably due to a broken rib.

'_Darn bastard! If I could, I'd bring him back from the dead just to kill him again,'_ Temari thought darkly as she rubbed her sore head while recalling how she got these injuries.

She had been returning to Suna with her team of three genins after having completed a simple escort mission. They were about a half hour away from reaching Suna when a missing-nin from their village had ambushed. During the struggle, the nin had captured one of her genins which prevented her from unleashing her more powerful wind jutsus without the risk of hurting her student making the situation a lot more difficult.

'_The coward even had the nerve to insult Gaara and Suna in front of me,'_ Temari seethed as she recalled the nin's exact words.

---

"_Hee this is exactly why I left Suna. Ever since that wretched Gaara became Kazekage all of Suna turned soft. You won't even sacrifice this kid's life to kill me. None of you pathetic saps deserve to live," then as a crazed smile appeared on the nin's face, "So I'm gonna slaughter as many of you pathetic so call shinobis as I can. I wonder what your final expression of horror will look when you die!"_

_---_

'_So he was the missing-nin who had been killing Suna shinobis while evading capture for about a year now.'_

Temari was suddenly brought out of her thoughts when she heard the sound of footsteps entering the room. Looking up, she saw it was Kankuro with a female med-nin close behind.

"Okay, I'm going to check how your injuries are..."

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"I'm telling you I don't need to stay here," Temari angrily yelled at her two brothers, "My injuries are fine!"

Kankuro had an annoyed scowl on his face while Gaara remained stoned face unfazed by their sister's outburst.

"Fine? You flinch every time you try to sit up," Kankuro exclaimed looking at Temari accusingly.

"You've also taken a bad hit to the head," Gaara said calmly before Temari could contradict Kankuro, "Your students informed us you had fallen unconscious on your way back after you killed the shinobi that ambushed your team. After Kankuro had brought you here, you'd remained unconscious for two days. It would be best if you remain here for at least another day to make sure that blow to your head really hasn't harmed you."

"But..."

"If they say you're fine to leave tomorrow, then you can come back home," Gaara said in a tone that indicated he would not change his mind.

"Fine, but I'm leaving tomorrow no matter what you say," Temari said grudgingly with a frown before muttering something about overprotective brothers.

Gaara nodded his head and turned to leave before remembering another reason for coming to see his sister. Reaching into the pack he was carrying, Gaara took out a book and handed it to a puzzled looking Temari.

"What's this for," she questioned before looking at the book title: **Advance Shoji Tactics**.

"I figured you would like something to do and since you've been trying to advance your shoji playing skills lately, I thought you'd like this," Gaara said while avoiding eye contact with his two surprised looking siblings.

"...Thank you Gaara," Temari said sincerely after getting over her shock.

It's true that the bonds among the three siblings had strengthened over the years ever since Gaara's fight with Naruto, but each of them would still become somewhat surprised whenever one of the other's did something thoughtful for them. They've become used to the concern they show to one another during the heat of battle, but still had some trouble showing familial love outside of battle.

"I'm sure this will keep me from being bored out of my mind until I leave tomorrow," Temari continued with a smile.

Gaara gave a slight nod of acknowledgment before walking out the door.

"So, why are you so interested in shoji these days," Kankuro asked a few moments after Gaara left.

"How's it any of your business," Temari said suspiciously narrowing her eyes.

Shrugging his shoulders, Kankuro replied in an innocent tone, "It's just that you've never shown much interest in shoji until recently after you've returned from Konoha," then with a sly grin, "and if I remember correctly, of all the people we know in Konoha, only that Nara boy is interested in playing shoji."

"I don't see where you're going with this" Temari crossed her arms and tried to steady her sudden racing heart knowing full well what her brother was hinting at.

"Well either you have suddenly fallen in love with shoji after playing with Nara or you've taken a fancy to shadow boy," Kankuro stated a matter of factly.

"Maybe I did get interested in the game after playing with the crybaby," Temari retorted.

"Aw please, you learned how to play shoji ever since we were small and never once gained such a big interest in it. You've even said it was a game for old-timers," Kankuro scoffed.

"The crybaby just plays better than anyone I've ever played before that's all," Temari said while turning her face away from Kankuro since she felt heat rushing to her face.

"Whatever you say sis," Kankuro said with a shake of his head as he started to leave, but not before saying, "I don't know what you see in him though."

This quickly earned him a hard stare from Temari as she told him to get out and let her have some peace and quiet.

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Temari let out a sigh as she slung her small pack onto the waiting chair outside the hospital room she had been staying in. Leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, she scowled while tapping her foot impatiently.

'_This is ridiculous! I'm not crippled so why the heck do I have to wait for one of them to pick me up,'_ Temari thought angrily as she recalled how a medic had prevented her from leaving.

---

"_I'm sorry, but the Kazekage specifically ordered us not to let you leave until he or Kankuro arrived," the nervous looking medic said to a steaming Temari._

---

'_Where are they,' _she thought for the hundredth time.

Temari did not like being cooped up in one room for too long especially when she had to stay in bed. As far as she was concerned, if she could move and walk, she shouldn't be confined in a room. Therefore, as soon as her genins had left after a short visit, she had begun to pack the few articles of clothing she had into her pack and strapped her tensen fully prepared to leave.

'_Obviously that had not gone according to plan,'_ she thought bitterly before letting out a sigh, '_Really, I say this whole worrying brother thing is getting overboard.'_

Seeing as probably neither of her brothers will be here any time soon, Temari set her tensen against the wall and sat down. Rummaging through her pack, she pulled out the shoji tactic book and began flipping through it. In truth, she had already read through the whole book and found it to be of little help. Granted there were a few difficult shoji puzzles, but ti wasn't anything she couldn't figure out after a bit of thinking.

'_That crybaby is a 100-times harder than this poor excuse for a shoji tactic book,'_ Temari thought with a grin, '_But that doesn't mean I won't beat him at his own game one of these days.'_

"Oi what are you grinning about," Kankuro asked startling the unsuspecting Temari.

Apparently she had been so lost in her thought that she failed to notice her brothers walking up to her until Kankuro had yelled out his question.

"I really don't see how that boring thing can amuse anyone," Kankuro continued ignoring Temari's piercing stare.

"I had to find something to entertain me since I was FORBIDENED to leave on my own," Temari said darkly as she put the book back into her pack.

"Hey Gaara's the one that gave the order," Kankuro said while pointing a finger at their little brother.

"I do recall you were the one who stated that she would leave before we got to speak with a medic about her condition if I do not prevent her from being able to leave on her own," Gaara replied coolly with a semi-raised eyebrow.

"I'll deal with both of you later," Temari growled before Kankuro could get out a word, "Now that both of you spoke with the medic, are we going to be leaving any time soon?"

Giving a slight nod, Gaara told Temari to pick up her things and that once they were home, he had something important to tell her. Having noticed the eye contact between her two brothers, Temari knew she won't like whatever Gaara was planning to tell her.

---

"Look if neither of you are about to say anything, then I'm going to my room, Since you guys forced me to stay in the hospital yesterday, I only have tonight to pack for my trip to Konoha tomorrow," Temari said impatiently.

They had been silently sitting in their living room since they've been back. The longer the silence lasted, the more certain that Temari was that she won't like whatever her brothers were prolonging in telling her.

"Well that won't be a problem now," Kankuro muttered silently, but was still heard by Temari.

"And just what is that suppose to mean," Temari crossed her arms and asked with narrowed eyes.

"It means your usual trip to Konoha has been postponed," Gaara said calmly.

"What," Temari yelled shooting up from her sit.

"Tsk just think about it. Who in their right mind would send someone who had just woken up from a two day coma on a three day trip by themselves," Kankuro said in a series tone, "And no it's not that we doubt your skills, but it just seems too risky. For all we know you could end up falling unconscious in the middle of your trip because of that blow to your head."

"You're just over thinking things," Temari replied stubbornly even though she knew the logic behind what her brother said was sound, "Besides a shinobi's life is always full of risks."

"That doesn't mean a shinobi should make any unnecessary risks," Gaara put in.

Seeing the stubborn determination still remaining in his sister's eyes, Gaara continued in his authoritive Kazekage tone, "This usual trip to Konoha is not crucial. There is no need to send our ambassador on schedule if she is in no condition to make the trip. I have already send a message to the Hokage about your postponed arrival and have already received an understanding from the Hokage herself. I am not requesting you to postpone your trip. I am ordering you as your Kazekage to recover from your injuries before heading to Konoha as planned."

Kankuro watched with amusement at Temari's attempt to hold in her temper. Both brothers knew how much their sister despised being ordered into doing something that goes against her plans. Usually Gaara never have to use his title as Kazakage on Temari, but there were times, like right now, where Temari was just too stubborn for her own good.

"Fine," Temari shouted angrily before picking up her tensen and pack and stormed off to her room.

A loud slam echoed thought the house and Kankuro swore he felt the entire house shake.

"Gee that went well," Kankuro said, "You know she'll probably be angry with you for days."

Giving a slight shrug, Gaara got up, "She'll calm down soon enough."

Kankuro watched as Gaara headed out the door, '_Probably back to his office. He did only took some time off to make sure Temari was alright.'_

---

"Darn protective brothers, Damn bastard missing-nin," Temari muttered angrily as she unpacked her bag.

Seeing the mess she was making because of her angry tossing of the contents in her bag, she gave a grunt and flopped down onto her bed deciding to give up trying to unpack for now.

'_My trip to Konoha doesn't need to be postponed,' _Temari thought as she stared angrily at the ceiling, '_Now I'll probably have to work double time for the Chunin exam preparations...that lazybum's probably going to slack off without me there to keep him in line...wonder what the crybaby's up to right now?'_

Springing up into a sitting position, Temari's eyes went wide as she realized what she had just wondered.

"Well this is just wonderful," Temari muttered, "That crybaby can sneak his way into my thoughts even when I'm miles away from Konoha."

For quite some time now Temari had figured out she'd taken a liking to that brilliant yet lazy shinobi. It had begun with her noticing how his company was rather welcomed. There were even many times when she would seek out his company. Overtime, she even found their usual arguments endearing since it seemed that he actually put effort in their "discussions" unlike when she saw how he usually brushed arguments with other people off with a shrug of his shoulders.

At first Temari had been confused by this attachment to the lazy shinobi. She was not someone who was accustomed to feelings of attachment due to having been in a broken family as well as the former teachings of Suna. Ye, she could see that her attachment to Shikamaru was different from her attachment to her brothers, her dead mother, her new friends in Konoha or any other attachments she very had. It felt scary to know that this lazy shinobi she had once found annoying to have become someone very important to her.

Not wanting to continue this train of thought, Temari stood up after glancing at her clock.

'_I guess I'll start preparing dinner,' _she slowly walked out of her room trying to decide if she should just let her brothers make their own supper since she still felt somewhat angry with them.

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Temari was sitting on a bench outside of a small roadside tea shop. Setting down her empty teacup, she raised her head and gazed at the cloudless sky while thinking about how glad she was of having been able to convince Gaara into shortening the postponal. If not she would still be stuck taking out her frustration at the training grounds of Suna rather than being just about an hour away from Konoha. She couldn't help but grin as she remembered that night when she had still been angry with her brothers.

---

_Kankuro and Gaara walked into the dining room having smelled the strong aroma of food. They had found Temari already putting her dishes into the sink. On the table, there was food set out for both brothers._

"_Thought you were angry with us sis. You didn't poison our food now did you," Kankuro said jokingly as he and Gaara sat down._

_Looking at them with an expressionless face, Temari spoke in a suspiciously calm tone, "Eat it and find out, but if either of you get sick, I won't be the one taking you to the hospital."_

"_Hee you're kidding...aren't you sis," Kankuro asked nervously as he tried to find an answer on his sister's face._

_Temari only smirked and to her satisfaction, she had noticed Gaara eyeing his food a little doubtfully even though she knew he was probably trying to hide any of his nervousness._

---

Of course she hadn't poisoned their food, but she had to get them back for causing her plans to be set back.

'_I wonder if they actually ate that night,'_ Temari thought as she strapped her tensen onto her back, '_Ah well serves them right. They should be thankful that was all I did.'_

With that thought, Temari paid for her tea and sweets before continuing her journey to Konoha.

---

Temari could feel an excitement course through her body as she spotted the gates of Konoha. Knowing Shikamaru, her escort, was probably waiting for her at the gates just added to her excitement. Increasing her speed, the view of the gates grew with each leap. In a matter of seconds, Temari found herself just a few feet away from the giant gates of Konoha.

As she got closer, she quickly recognized the figure leaning against the gate with his eyes closed.

'_Figures he be asleep,' _she thought with a smirk before yelling out, "Oi you lazybum have you fallen asleep waiting?"

She saw the smile slowly form on Shikamaru's face when he looked up and gave her his usual lazy wave.

"You're late troublesome woman," he said when she was next to him, "Tsk, bet you just wanted to give me trouble by leaving me to do all the Chunin exam preparations."

"Hee as if you would focus long enough to do even half the work without me keeping you from slacking off," Temari replied naturally as the two began walking toward the Hokage Tower, both visibly having a content smile on their face.

**A/N: Well this was longer than I'd expected. Well now I have to decided if there's gonna be one or two chapters left...it will depend on how everything work out as I write. Reviews or suggestions would be appreciated.**


	3. Secret Joys

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

"I'm impressed Nara. You actually did finish half the paper work on your own," Temari said with genuine surprise as she flipped through a stack of completed paper work.

Sited across from her, Shikamaru merely gave a lazy shrug as he stared disapprovingly at the piles of paper work waiting to be done. Paper work had merely been a way to distract his thoughts away from Temari the past week, but now the said troublesome woman was sitting right across from him. In other words, the paper work has lost its value as a distraction and in turn has reverted back to a troublesome task Shikamaru would rather avoid.

"Oi lazy, don't go spacing out. Just cause you've already completed half the work doesn't mean I'll do the rest on my own, so get to work," Temari said as she tossed a file in front of Shikamaru before turning her focus back on the document in front of her.

"Bossy woman," Shikamaru muttered as he began reviewing the file about a Konoha shinobi candidate.

But no matter how much he tried to retain his focus on the file, the occasional sound of pencil tapping or paper flipping kept alerting him to Temari's presence. Rather than evaluating the Konoha candidate's skills, he found himself wondering if Temari has made a full recovery yet. Knowing her stubborn nature, he didn't need his genius mind to guess that Temari probably convinced Gaara to let her return to her job as ambassador as soon as possible.

'_Meaning she probably didn't get enough time to heal,'_ he thought as he stole a glance at Temari.

"In case you didn't know, paying attention to your work gets it done a whole lot faster than if you keep glancing at me," Temari commented without looking up.

Having been caught staring, Shikamaru tired to disguise his embarrassment by muttering "troublesome," but the small shade of pink on his face gave him away.

"So how'd you get yourself landed into the hospital? A mission too tough for you to handle," he asked after regaining his composure.

"Are you calling me weak Nara," Temari asked challengingly as she looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"I never said that woman," Shikamaru quickly replied as his mind immediately tried to think of ways to defuse this time bomb he apparently started, "Geez show a bit of concern for a friend and get snapped at instead."

"Well next time show concern without sounding insulting," Temari replied, then continued with a small wave of her hand, "Anyway we can catch up later when you treat me to lunch. Right now you should concentrate on these piles of paper work waiting to be done."

"Feh who said I would treat you to lunch," Shikamaru said nonchalantly even though he had planned to ask her later.

Taking her eyes off the paper work once more, Temari gave Shikamaru her usual grin and said, "As a concern friend I'm sure you're obligated to treat a recovering friend to lunch."

Shikamaru felt his heart skip a beat at Temari's trade-mark grin. How long has it been since he last saw this smirk? He had no idea how much he could miss this troublesome woman's mocking grin.

'_What a pain,'_ Shikamaru thought glad that Temari had reverted her attention back on her documents in time to miss his slightly flustered face, '_Well at least I didn't have to go thought the trouble of asking her to lunch.'_

---

**Three Hours Later**

"Come on Temari we already got a lot done," Shikamaru groaned with his hand covering his shut eyes, "Can't we take our lunch break already?"

"For your information I got most of the work done no thanks to you," Temari said with a raised eye-brow, "You kept on staring at the paper work like it would finish itself. Geez how did you get any work done? Maybe I should double check your work after these are done."

Too bored to even make a comeback, Shikamaru just gave a small annoyed grunt and leaned back against his chair staring at the ceiling. Seeing as her companion was not about to respond, Temari gave a small shake of her head and continued her work. Several moments passed and Shikamaru switched his gaze from the ceiling to Temari. It was obvious the kunoichi wasn't about to budge. With a sigh, Shikamaru placed his elbow on the table and leaned his chin against his palm before saying, "This is a reasonable hour to take a lunch break. Besides I doubt you had a decent breakfast on your way here this morning."

Before Temari could respond, her stomach let out a quiet rumbling sound.

"Hee what'd I tell you," Shikamaru said with a smirk, "Obviously it's time for lunch."

Standing up, Shikamaru watched with amusement as a semi-embarrassed Temari shuffled the papers and stacked the completed documents to one side. He could vaguely hear her cursing under her breath as she strapped her fan to her back. Unable to hide his amusement, the edge of his mouth twitched into a grin. Always being the prideful kunoichi, Temari glared at Shikamaru as she walked up to him.

"We'll see who's smiling after I eat you blind," Temari muttered as she walked pass the still grinning Shikamaru.

With his usual slouch and hands in his pockets, Shikamaru walked after Temari thinking it wise to stay behind her until they were out of the building.

---

Walking side by side, the two shinobis were heading back to the Hokage Tower having finished eating. Temari had a content smile on her face while Shikamaru had a slightly agitated look.

"Man how could you eat that much in one sitting," Shikamaru groaned, "I don't recall you ever eating that much."

"What can I say? I'm building my strength for a quicker complete recovery," Temari replied then continued with a smirk, "Besides I didn't have to pay for the meal."

"Feh troublesome woman," Shikamaru muttered.

He was so occupied by his thoughts that he failed to hear the sound of laughter and running feet. Before he knew it, he was knocked into from behind causing him to head face first into the ground. Bracing himself for impact, he was surprised when he felt someone pulled him back to balance by his arm.

"Oi getting careless crybaby? Tsk almost pushed to the ground by some kid," he heard Temari say in a half amused, half mocking tone.

Looking up he watched the three children continued running down the marketplace apparently not having bother to stop and apologize seeing as they were too into their game of tag.

"Tsk annoying brats," Shikamaru muttered trying to hide his embarrassment.

"I don't know about that," Temari said teasingly, "They seemed quite adorable to me. Especially the one that nearly bowled you over."

"Feh."

His respond only brought greater amusement to Temari as she began to chuckle.

Letting out a sigh, Shikamaru wondered what else could possibly go wrong. As if the heaven had heard his question, he tensed up as he heard a familiar voice called out to him.

'_Of course we just had to run into her,'_ Shikamaru thought as he and Temari turned to the source of the voice.

"Yoshino-san, I see you're out grocery shopping," Temari said as she smiled at the woman carrying a basket of vegetables.

"Somebody's got to fee the two lazy men at our house," Yoshino said jokingly causing Temari to let out another chuckle.

"Mom," Shikamaru moaned in a tired tone.

"So Temari-san back for more ambassador business," Yoshino asked with a smile completely ignoring her son's pleading look.

"Yes and we have quite a bit of work to catch up on since I had an unexpected delay," Temari replied politely, "We really should get going Yoshino-san. There's a lot more work waiting to be done."

"Well I wouldn't want to delay you, but do you have any plans for tonight? If not why don't you come over for dinner? We would love to have you over again," Yoshino said to which Shikamaru groaned earning him a stern look from his mother.

"I don't want to cause any trouble---"

"Oh it's no trouble at all," Yoshino said before Temari could finish her sentence, "It's settled. I'll see you again tonight. I better not delay you two from work any longer. I've better head home too to prepare dinner."

Without giving a chance for either shinobi to reply, Yoshino waved a goodbye and quickly headed off to be lost in the large crowds.

"Your mother sure is energetic," Temari said as they began heading back to the Hokage Tower once more, "Hard to believe you her son."

"Humph, all you women are just troublesome like that," Shikamaru said as he turned his gaze to a cloud drifting in the sky, "You guys just can't ever relax."

"So you're suggesting every woman should turn into a lazyass like you," Temari said disapprovingly.

"I never suggested anything," Shikamaru replied in his usual disinterested tone, "Tsk, women, always think any comment directed toward them that's not a compliment has to be an insult."

"Argh there you go again with your sexist views about men and women…," Temari began to go off in her same agitated tone whenever Shikamaru heads a conversation in this direction.

So occupied by her rant, Temari failed to notice her companion's mouth twist into that amused grin only she can create. Inwardly, Shikamaru felt tremendous joy. Somehow he just found it endearing how this usually unfazable Suna Princess can get so riled up by his small comments.

'_Maybe my chances aren't so slim afterall,'_ Shikamaru though as his grin widened unconsciously even as his companion demanded to know if he was even listening to her.

* * *

Neatly tying up her obi, Temari walked up to her dresser and began combing her dried hair. Half an hour has passed since Shikamaru had dropped her off at the ambassador suites. After having finished their work earlier than anticipated, Temari had told her companion that she wanted to rest awhile back at her suite before heading over to the Nara compound. Having thought it would be a good idea since she was still recovering; Shikamaru had quickly agreed and to Temari's surprise had even offered to walk her to the inn.

'_I guess that crybaby ain't always so lazy afterall,'_ Temari thought with a smile.

Retying her hair, Temari suddenly felt a slight jab like pain course through her right shoulder. Carefully lowering her arm, she slightly pulled down the right side of her shirt to find the bandages beneath were beginning to soak with blood.

"Guess I should have checked my wound at the hospital when I first arrived," Temari mumbled as she recalled her brothers' pestering when she had set out from Suna.

Knowing she shouldn't move her right arm anymore in case the wound would reopen even more, Temari laid down her brush with a sigh. The idea of having to go out with her hair down just didn't bold well with her. It's not that she minded how others may view this different appearance, but without her usual hairstyle, she just felt a little less like herself.

'_Tsk guess it can't be helped,'_ she thought as she straightened out her shirt.

Getting up, Temari walked over to her tensen and strapped it onto her back. She may not be able to retie her hair, but there was no way in hell she would go anywhere without her tensen. She gave a quick glance to the clock before heading out the door and made her way down a flight of stairs into the inn's lobby. After exchanging a quick greeting with the inn-keeper standing at the front desk, Temari walked out onto the busy street filled with parents and their children.

'_It is around the time academy classes are over,'_ Temari thought as she navigated though the busy street making sure no one bumped into her semi-reopened wounds.

As she made her way toward the Konoha hospital, Temari couldn't help but notice all the close relationships between parents and children. There were children excitingly recalling their day at the academy to proud looking parents, children asking for help with their shuriken training once they get home and children pulling on their parent's sleeves asking to buy a certain snack or toy. There were even children being scolded for some mischievous deed the child had committed that day, yet even as the angered parent informed their child of their punishment, Temari could clearly see the love in the parents' eyes.

It brought envy to her heart. She could hardly recall a time in her childhood when she or either of her brothers had received such love and care from their father. The only parental love she ever felt was from their mother, but she was only old enough to remember her mother's simple acts of love for a year or so before their own father sent their mother to her death.

'_Father, what a joke,'_ Temari thought bitterly as she tightened both her fist impervious to the jab of pain it created in her wounded shoulder, '_ The only thing he could be considered ever being fatherly to was Suna. We were probably nothing more than tools to keep his precious Suna safe and in power.'_

As a shinobi born and raised in Suna, Temari also held a great love for her village, but she could not comprehend how someone could hold any place more close to their heart than even their own flesh and blood. The teachings of Suna may have brought her up with the idea of the village always coming first, but she could never fathom how anyone would willingly sacrifice their own kin. The incapability to safe a comrade during a mission was one thing, but to purposely sacrifice another without a second thought…

'_Hee the soft hearted teachings of Konoha must be rubbing off on me,'_ Temari thought as she recalled a few joint missions she had done with the different member of the Konoha 12 and how fiercely each one of them had fought, never taking sacrifice as an option.

Perhaps before the incident with their Konoha invasion plan, she would have been willing to sacrifice comrades even if it secretly pained her to do so, but now…sacrifice have become an almost impossible task.

* * *

"Remember to come back tomorrow so I can reapply fresh medicine to your wounds," Sakura said as she began washing her hands in a basin.

"I won't forget. Thank you," Temari said as she flexed her arm a little glad to see there was little pain now.

"I've applied herbs to help reclose your wounds and quicken their healing pace, but if you over stress your arm it **will** reopen again," Sakura said giving Temari a disapproving look, "Honestly, with the wounds you have you should have rested a few more days before traveling here. I bet your wounds reopened because you over taxed it when it was only beginning to heal."

"I'll be fine Sakura," Temari said with a wave of her hand, "I was never one for days of bed rest. It would have driven me insane if I had been forced to stay in bed with nothing to do but stare at the ceiling."

Giving a slight shake of her head, Sakura was not at all surprised by Temari's response. Having known her for a while as well as having worked with her in the past, she understood how Temari was never one to stay down no matter how severe her wounds may be. She watched her friend tie up her hair into the usual four ponytails with a half hearted smile.

'_It's a wonder how her brothers got her to take a whole week off duty to recover her strength before coming here to continue her ambassador duties,'_ Sakura thought as she and Temari stepped into the hallway.

"Well thanks again. I should probably get going now," Temari said with a smile.

As Sakura was about to respond, she noticed a certain blonde hair shinobi trying to sneak out of his room.

"Naruto! Where do you think you're going," Sakura yelled as she walked passed Temari toward her teammate.

"Sakura-chan! I…um…I…that is," Naruto nervously said in jumbled speech as he waved his hands wildly in front of himself.

"You are still recovering so get back into bed and rest," Sakura said in threatening tone.

"But Sakura-chan I'm fine," Naruto cried as he swung his arm trying to prove his point, "See I'm all healed."

"Baka, you're here because you are still recovering," Sakura scolded as she began to pull Naruto back to his room by the cuff of his hospital gown, "Now quite swinging your arm like an idiot or you'll open your wounds again."

Temari watched the scene unfold with an amused smile as she saw how the boy who was powerful enough to save her youngest brother get dragged away by his pink-hair teammate. Seeing as she's probably been forgotten, Temari turned and headed out of the hospital. She was glad to find the number of people on the street had died down. Slowly making her way toward the Nara compound, a light smile adorned her face.

**A/N: A long overdue chapter. Finally got an idea going and out came this chapter. Sorry for the lateness. Anyway this story should be over by the next chapter, if not then not more than a total of 5 chapters, but we'll see. Hopefully this chapter came out with everyone seemingly in character. Love it if I can get some feedback. 'Til next time.**


	4. Troublesome Preparations

****

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Lying back on the bench of his favorite cloud watching rooftop, Shikamaru watched the drifting clouds with an unfocused gaze. After having dropped off Temari at the inn for foreign ambassadors, he had made his way here not wanting to immediately return home. Knowing his mother was probably going to bug him to ask Temari out again, he had decided that it would not be in his favor to head home so soon. He had hoped that partaking in his favorite activity could at least momentarily ease his mind, but so far his mind had only became more troubled. For the past half an hour, he had been plagued with worry about tonight's dinner. He knew without a doubt his mother will embarrass him. The only question was how.

"What a drag," he muttered as he sat up.

Seeing as cloud watching was out of the question, Shikamaru let out a tired yawn as he stretched. He slowly stood up and headed toward the stairwell. Once back out on the street, he began walking with no destination in mind. His feet ended up taking him to the street where the Yamanaka flower shop was located. Realizing where he was, Shikamaru immediately came to a halt, meters away from his former teammate's shop.

'_What am I doing,'_ he thought with a sigh, '_There is no way I'm going to get her flowers in this kind of situation.'_

In his head, Shikamaru began telling himself why it would be a bad idea to get Temari flowers. They weren't a couple for one thing, so he did not want to embarrass himself especially if Temari may dislike the idea of receiving flowers. He knew for a fact that the Suna princess liked botany, but he's not so sure about a bouquet. Perhaps she wouldn't mind if it's from her boyfriend, but he obviously did not fit in that category. Furthermore, this sort of gesture would only encourage his mother to embarrass him more than she already certainly would.

'_Not to mention what Ino might ask or say if she finds me trying to buy flowers,' _Shikamaru thought with a slight shiver imagining all the gossip his talkative friend would certainly start.

With all those reasons in mind, Shikamaru quickened his pace until he had walked several buildings away from the Yamanaka flower shop. Deciding it was about time to head home before his mother have a fit, he headed toward the direction of the Nara compound. Suddenly, a certain smell caught his attention. An idea popped into his head as he followed the smell. A few moments later, he stood in front of a shop that sold sweet chestnuts.

'_Hee it should be safe to buy these,'_ Shikamaru thought with a satisfied grin as he recalled the first time he'd seen Temari eating this particular shop's sweet chestnuts.

_

* * *

_

_He and Temari had been heading to his house to retrieve some documents he had forgotten. She had already been swamped with work for the past few days and had even less patient than usual. He could tell her temper was sky rocketing by the second._

"_How could you have forgotten the documents," Temari demanded to know for the fourth time since they've left the building, "I reminded you yesterday to bring them! I swear Nara you're just trying to make my life more difficult!"_

_Knowing he had to keep his mouth shut if he wanted to come out of this without any injuries, Shikamaru opted to remain silent the whole way to his house. Just as he was sure he would go deaf from Temari's constant angry rant, she suddenly went quiet and halted. Having no idea why his angry companion had stopped, Shikamaru looked at her questioningly._

"_I don't remember seeing this place the last time I was here," Temari said with the scowl still on her face, but without the anger she had used moments ago._

_Looking up, Shikamaru realized she was referring to the shop they were standing in front of and said, "It reopened about a week after you left. Why do you care? It only sells sweet chestnuts."_

"_I don't feel like walking with you to get the papers YOU forgot," Temari said not bothering to answer his question, "I haven't had breakfast yet anyway so I'll wait for you here."_

"_Troublesome woman," Shikamaru muttered, "Who's the lazy one now?"_

_Instead of a fiery comeback he had expected, Temari merely told him to get going and hurry back before disappearing into the shop. Finding this strange, he quickly shrugged it off as none of his business and decided to quickly do a s Temari had said or risk a head injury from the Suna princess's fist..or worse her tensen._

_It did not take long for the shadow nin to retrieve the documents. As he approached the sweet chestnut shop, Shikamaru wondered if he would have time to cloud watch later. This thought was quickly forgotten when he noticed Temari sitting on a bench popping a chestnut into her mouth. The look on her face left him feeling dumbstruck._

_'Is she smiling,' Shikamaru thought in disbelief._

_The content happy smile on the Suna princess's face was none like he had ever seen before. There seemed to be a far off look in her eyes. This was a side of Temari he had never seen before. Given he'd only known her for a few months, but he can't recall ever seeing the usually tough and commanding Temari look so peacefully content._

_'She actually looks kinda cute.'_

_A blush rose to his cheeks as he remembered who he was looking at. Quickly pulling himself back together, he ignored his previous thoughts and called out to her with his uninterested tone. Upon hearing his voice, Temari's eyes lost the distant gaze to quickly be replaced by the familiar guarded one, but a trace of that smile remained on her face for the rest of the day._

* * *

'_I never did find out why chestnuts can make her look so happy,'_ Shikamaru thought as he entered the shop, '_I guess that's not so important.'_

Shikamaru just felt glad he could buy something Temari liked with little chance of rousing his parents' suspicion. After all, neither of them knew of the Suna ambassador's love of chestnuts.

"Shikamaru!"

Turning around, Shikamaru found his best friend entering the shop behind him. As usual, the happy looking boy was scarfing down a bag of chips.

"Hey Chouji," Shikamaru said not at all surprised to find his best friend at an establishment that sold food.

"You here for the sweet chestnuts too," Chouji asked with a wide grin, "These are the best. I can't get enough!"

Shikamaru grinned and gave a slight nod as he and Chouji walked up to the counter. Coming from Chouji, a compliment to any type of food was no surprise. The boy would probably eat anything that's edible. Now if his friend complained about a dish, that would be news. Several moments later, the two boys walked out of the shop with Chouji already chowing down on his bag of sweet chestnuts having finished his bag of chips.

"So want to head over to the barbeque place with me," Chouji asked with a mouthful of chestnut, "Kiba, Shino, Lee, Hinata and Ino are coming too. Said for me to invite you if I ran into you."

"Can't, my mom would go ballistic if I don't go home for dinner tonight," Shikamaru said, "Seeing as she probably expect me home already, I'll get chewed out one way or another. Tsk troublesome."

"Too bad," Chouji said with a sympathetic smile, "Maybe next time."

Giving a slight nod of his head, Shikamaru gave a lazy wave of goodbye and began heading home. Chouji watched his friend's retreating back with curiosity. He found it strange the shadow nin would decline his invitation seeing as he hardly ever does. Not only that, but Shikamaru's tone did not contain he usual dread of facing an annoyed Yoshino. Staring at the bag of chestnut in his departing friend's hand, a thought suddenly struck him. Chouji recalled how during the few times Temari had come to their usual gathering, the Sand nin had a love for chestnuts whenever they happened to have it. The Suna princess had even beat him to the last piece, something he'd never forget!

A soft chuckle erupted from Chouji's throat as he gave a good guess as to why Yoshino would not allow his friend from not returning home for supper on time. Moreover, his friend had not mentioned buying chestnut as and errand. Having been friends with Shikamaru since childhood, he knew for a fact that the shadow nin neither hated nor loved sweet chestnuts, so for him to buy it without his mother telling him to...

'_Shikamaru's got it bad,'_ Chouji thought with a grin as he began making his way to the barbeque restaurant, '_And to think he used to constantly complain about Temari.'_

* * *

"Shikamaru get down here and help me set up the table," Yoshino yelled to her son who was currently lying on his bed staring at the ceiling.

With a sigh and a mutter of "troublesome," Shikamaru pushed himself out of bed and sluggishly trudged downstairs. The closer he got to the kitchen, the stronger the warm aroma of food became. He recognized the smell of miso soup, stir-fry vegetables, rice and mackerel. Sensing his presence in the kitchen, his mother immediately told him to set up the plates, bowls and chopsticks as she taste tested the soup. Giving a slight grunt as a reply, Shikamaru carried the utensils into the dining room. Just as he finished placing down the last pair of chopsticks, he heard his father opening the front door and greeting their awaited guest.

Moments later, Temari entered the dining room without her tensen strapped to her back having left it near the front door. Seeing Shikamaru leaning back against his chair with a bored look, she couldn't help but smirk.

"Look at you Nara. Sitting around waiting for dinner to be served. Is there a time when you're not lazy," Temari questioned as she took a sit across form him.

"Tch what about you," Shikamaru replied in his bored tone, "I don't see you rushing off to help."

"Since when is it the guest's responsibility to held the host who's too lazy to do anything himself," Temari said with a raised eyebrow.

Before he could retort, his parents walked in with the food. As the meal commenced, Yoshino began conversing with Temari. Although Shikaku had an indifferent expression, Shikamaru could tell his father was taking in every word that was exchanged. What worried Shikamaru was how his mother was asking questions that were a bit more personal than she had done before. The last time Temari had came over, his mother had been more casual. Luckily Temari didn't seem to mind and had skillfully avoided answering anything she did not feel like sharing without sounding rude, but Shikamaru just knew nothing good would come out of his mother's growing interest in getting to know the Suna princess.

'_Please don't ask anything that'll make me want to vanish,'_ he pleaded in his head like a mantra.

As if on cue, Yoshino smiled pleasantly and asked, "So Temari-san, do you have a boyfriend?"

For the second time that month, Shikamaru nearly choked on his rice from his mother's blunt question. His father on the other hand didn't even bat an eye. Having been married for years, Shikaku had become accustomed to his wife's often straight forwardness. Chancing a glance at Temari, Shikamaru half expected her to have stunned expression, but to his surprise, Temari only showed the slightest hint of astonishment in her eyes that was quickly covered up.

With a hint of amusement at the blunt question, Temari replied calmly, "No Yoshino-san, I'm not seeing anybody."

"Really now," Yoshino said in a feign surprised tone, "A smart and beautiful girl like you must have many suitors especially in Suna. Don't you think so Shikamaru?"

"Only if they're brave enough to survive her temper and patient enough to stand her bossy attitude," Shikamaru said nonchalantly as he chewed on his vegetables, "If there are a lot of man like that in Sun then I'm sure she has many suitors."

While Yoshino had a disapproving frown on her face, Temari seemed unfazed by his answer. If Shikamaru didn't know better, he say the look in her eyes showed that she had expected this kind of answer. Unnoticed by anyone else at the table, Shikaku had silently watched the way hi son observed the ambassador with hidden curiosity at the girl's reaction to his answer. He did not miss how their guest held a glint of amusement in her eyes in response to his son's, what most would consider, rude answer.

'_It seem she knows my son's thinking very well,' _Shikaku thought knowing if it had been any other girl they would likely had become offended, '_Either that or the girl really knows how to hide her anger in these sorts of situation.'_

But judging from her hidden amusement, Shikaku knew it had to be the first reason. A mysterious smile adorned his face as he confidently guessed that this girl had the same feeling that his son has for her.

To Shikamaru's relieve, his mother toned down on the questions and the rest of the meal went as pleasantly as it possibly could with two troublesome women at the table. As Yoshino cleared the table, Temari asked Shikaku if it was true he always beat Shikamaru in shougi.

"Well I wouldn't say every game," Shikaku responded with a chuckle, "After all there are those rare occasions when my son is lucky enough to catch me on an off day."

"I would love to see the genius get beaten at his own game," Temari said with enthusiasm.

Shikamaru began muttering about how troublesome this was when his father had laughed and said he would be happy to oblige. Several moments after having set up the shougi board and pieces up on the patio, Temari silently observed the shougi match between the father and son. Under the shine of the moonlight, the game commenced with only the sound of the shougi pieces clicking against the board during each move. Neither Temari nor Shikamaru noticed the knowing glint in Shikaku's eyes throughout the game. He doubt his son realized that he was analyzing each move with more care than usual. Obviously losing this match in front of the Suna ambassador did not bold well with his son.

'_Not that I blame him,'_ Shikaku thought as he waited for his son to decide on a move, '_I doubt Temari would ever let him live it down, but that doesn't mean I'm about to let you win.'_

A mischievous smile graced the elder Nara's face as Shikamaru moved just as he predicted. With one swift motion, Shikaku mad his winning move and watched his son's frown deepened at the realization he had lost. At the same time, Temari's eyes quickly went from surprised to amused. Having never witness Shikamaru losing even once, she did had doubts that Shikaku did have the skills to outsmart his own son at shougi.

"So it seems you can be outsmarted in shougi after all Nara," Temari teased as Shikamaru began clearing the board.

"Never claimed to be the best," Shikamaru muttered, "Besides you wouldn't last half as long against my old man since you still can't beat me."

"What makes you so sure I won't be able to beat you now," Temari challenged.

Knowing she was baiting him to play, Shikamaru decided not to reply which happened to be a poor choice. His silence only added fuel to the fire by irritating the prideful Suna kunoichi.

"Darn it Nara you do think you're better than me," Temari said dangerously with narrowed eyes.

"Woman I have never said anything close to that," Shikamaru said with a sigh.

As the two became absorbed in their usual argument, Shikaku quietly went back inside knowing neither would miss his presence. It did come as somewhat of a surprise for him to see his son actually making an effort to argue. Albeit he had a lazy demeanor, the simple fact that his son was taking the time to argue back was tremendous effort coming from his laid back personality.

_'The boy's got it bad,'_ Shikaku thought with a silent chuckle.

**A/N: Oh such a long time since an update. I had to rethink then rewrite the chapter over a few times. Hopefully they didn't turn too OOC. I would hate to end up messing up the characters initial personality. Drop and review and let me know what you think.**


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